~Aurora Hephaestus.

“[As for small birds? Many of them nest in trees.]”

It always feels so dangerous, skirting around what I presume to be the edges of the Rules. That last one didn’t give the same sort of twinge that I was expecting. Perhaps because of him asking for help, the tertiary delivery method, or that it was just background advice. Because while many Rules aren’t spelled out in Mako, trying to exert direct control over how a dungeon is designed is one of the big ones. Especially with words.

I could more freely incinerate his entire territory than speak about what or how he should build in even a small section of his domain-

There is a shift in my Lair, and an absolutely gargantuan implosion of Mana that crashes me out of the sky. As my mind recovers, I stumble out of the tangle of dirt, branches and feathers made by my body just cratering through the canopy. The first thing I manage to put to rights is my Lair overview. Though, the massive enrichment of the Mana and Mako of the entire territory is far beyond what should be possible, unless I was knocked out for months.

Glancing around in confusion, I shift my gaze across my lands, and it takes some time to recognize the aversion and then break it. I didn’t want to look at the dungeon. Because what else could have possibly caused such an event but the bizarre dungeon that I just finished speaking to about advancements.

I steel myself and take off once more, heading for my workshop before I plan to direct my focus unto what is sure to be something spectacular.

Now that I’m again surrounded by my forge and the vein of the world’s burning blood, I look. The levels of Mana and Mako are insane for how young the dungeon is. It now feels like one that has been around for decades, and it was already growing faster than I anticipated.

With my attention so focused on the dungeon, when he begins to speak, I hear him doubled. As he is declaring himself to the world while I watch, I also feel him resonating through my very bones, “[Thing.]” They all have advanced much faster than they should have, but I don’t have much time. As interesting as it could be to tag along for this new frontier of dungeoneering; I belong to me.

Diving into the liquid rock was a bit more difficult than I expected. I had touched and worked with and around lava for quite some time in my pursuit of the forge, but never before had I tried to swim in it. The impact from ceiling felt more like crashing into a cliff than diving into a lake. The bruises and aches I had from my earlier fall from the sky escalating to broken bones.

Not wanting to risk passive immolation being a strong enough break from the circumstances, I am nonetheless very surprised and irritated that I survived the initial plunge. Even as I feel the heavy rock crushing me from all sides and quickly pouring through the rents and tears in my body, the pain of it all rather sucks. It takes precious seconds for my eyes to boil out of their sockets and the heated stone to gouge and melt its way to my brain.

---

My egg cracks and with a massive heave and a screech of triumph I tear myself free from the nest of magma and burst out of the pool of lava. My memories of my final moments most sharp in my mind as always, I take a quick stock of myself before concentrating on my Lair and whether my resident dungeon, “[DNA,]” has caused yet more problems during my revival.

Your {Contract} with “DNA” |Disease Dungeon| has been fulfilled. Per the agreement, the successful Assimilate Territory upon yourself did not violate your autonomy. Any further interactions with “Thing” are no longer under the purview of the System.

#Consider a working relationship. The forging of tools, weapons, and armor with fire and metal may share more overlap than you might imagine with the intricacies of the twisting and mutation of biology. The Master learns much from teaching an Apprentice.

I stand there in my innermost chamber, stunned into inaction. That second message has a weight to it that I had only felt the briefest touch of back when I first shaped the contract that is now complete. Before, it was merely an underwriting to quantify the application of the Boon I owed the dungeon. This time, it feels like a message from a Primordial Phoenix, telling a story of opportunity to some hatchlings.

I shiver and shake off the ominous feeling of being known to such a power. The sensation of being incredibly frail and weak, despite all I’ve accumulated since I was confined to my mother’s nest.

A glance outside checks the time and I see a new day about to dawn, my full rebirth took a while longer than it used to. Though, as I groom myself, I notice significant progress in my evolution. My feathers are sharper, sleeker and the patterns are more diverse than the old flame tips I achieved with my advancement. With a shimmy I can ruffle them between somewhat innocuous and distracting scintillation.

I walk to the mouth of my cavern and bask in the full experience of the sunrise. Too often I am stuck deep underground, at work or at rest when the Great Flame brings about first light. Knowing of its progress only by my connection to the land, but rarely experiencing it with my own eyes anymore. There’s something about watching such a transition from a place of stillness and rest that is unequaled even by soaring through the sky.

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As the cliff face warms in the sun and that line of light and heat crosses over the threshold, I stretch out my plumage to draw in as much of it to myself as I can. When I feel the moment when my entire self is soaking up the light I quickly dive out of my cavern, quickly dipping under the rising line before ascending high into the sky.

I make some lazy circles for a time as I adjust to my new weight, lift, and the strength that my rebirth has provided me. When I’m ready, I do some small acrobatics to get the feel of them back into muscle memory. When I’m appeased with flight in this new body, I shift my gaze back to the tree that I can see is visibly growing. Already a foot taller now than it was when I first spotted it coming out to my perch.

As I make my way over and pass across the boundary of his domain, I feel a radical deviation from my prior experiences. Before the dungeon’s domain was a wisp, a scent upon the breeze, an ephemeral caress of magic, barely there. Now, the very air itself feels more substantial while still being air. It feels akin to the difference in texture between stone and lava. Both are hard and heavy, but this new space has a certain give to it, it moves out of your way, but you can feel its clinging embrace engulfing you.

Yet, despite all that, it still doesn’t feel like a dungeon should, “[DNA… What am I to do with you? You strange, wonderous creature.]”

“We would ask that you wait for Father to wake before passing judgement. We do not mean your position nor lands any harm and would speak on his behalf while he recovers.”

I take a breath to center myself as Thing’s voice spills forth from within me. The completion notice mentioned nothing about purging myself of their prior influence and only my own arrogance is to blame for the assumption I would be immune to them without the contract aiding their efforts. Sharpening my mind and softening my tongue I reply, “[Thing. Your voice is much improved from last we spoke. I’ll be down to my spot in moments. Let us speak face to face, there is much to be done, even without your father’s oversight.]”

“I’m on my way. Take care at the pool. It is not as it once was, and Gnat is resting there in a large cocoon. Meaning no disrespect, but the three of us will defend our sibling in her vulnerable state.”

Their statement punctuated by the flight of a dozen birds from the grand tree some distance from the typical meeting spot as they race across the intervening space. Perhaps not enough to actually threaten me, but these are not the sweet treats I had Gnat quest for. That a tree would serve as host for that larger and less arboreal friendly species has a touch of irony, but the shifting aspect of their Mana and their flight’s coordination serves as a good showcase, especially as early in their development as this fourth scion is.

When I arrive at the once familiar location, there is an eerie cast to the stone and its waters. All of that is easy enough to push aside however, as I recognize the ‘cocoon’ that Thing had said Gnat was resting within. A phoenix egg. Larger than it should perhaps be, but if one considered that a near adult would be hatching from it instead of a chick, the size discrepancy could be forgiven.

“[Have no fear of my reaction to Gnat. I will cherish and protect her in this state the same as you do. The thought occurred to me, when the contract was initially made and earlier when I was notified of its completion, that eventually your father might be able to hatch phoenixes…]” the tones of awe woven throughout my voice seem like a weakness I shouldn’t indulge any longer. “[This is far too early for the birth of a legendary creature. Scion or no, even with his ludicrous advancement speed DNA should not be able to hatch a phoenix for years. How Thing? How is this happening?]”

I can feel their response hovering at the edge of my consciousness, an ask for some time and patience before Thing finally arrives in the flesh. They have grown considerably larger and grander since yesterday. They stop back near the edge of the small clearing and bow, “We believe it is because of you. Life agrees with your assessment of the timeline for phoenixes. He feels the weight of those schemas and even the discounted version would cost almost his entire budget.”

Thing tilts to the side and rests their bulb against a nearby trunk, “Life says that while he could hatch a single phoenix today if he chose, but it would serve a far lesser purpose than the flocks he could maintain in its stead. As for Gnat herself? She has always been enamored with you. Perhaps that was enough for the System to allow such an early advancement, though our rapid development was not without cost. Hence the cocoon.”

Their answer seems honest and trying to pursue this further won’t help me, “[What project are you working on now?]”

There is a pause before the answer, but not one of confusion, rather one of consideration and careful thinking, “When Father first captured his domain, shortly after you left, there was a massive surge in Mana that nearly caused him to burst. The three of us drew as much power as we could contain from him, and we each did our best to spend it as extravagantly as possible.”

Thing takes a moment to climb up into a tree, suspending themselves like a massive, overripe fruit seemingly hanging from a branch as they brace themselves on the trunk, “I learned that my talents of shifting diseases as I do… is absurd. When my species consolidated in the Monsterpedia, Father shared access to their entry. I’ve come to the conclusion that my kind cannot become sapient.”

I find a suitable perch on the rocks around the pool and gesture for Thing to continue, “Being able to control diseases like I can AND having the ability to learn for understanding, being able to make choices? At first, I sunk power into expanding my sight. It seemed a reasonable thing to do, it’s been an extremely limiting factor in my ability to interact with the world. The impressions I got from Gnat, Father and Cutest all told me there was much more that I was missing, even if I could see what they could not.”

If not for the vigilance of protecting a nest, I would have missed how the tree Thing is grappling begins to change. And once I noticed that I also noticed a change overtaking the others in this grove, their shifting as well. Not in the sense of growth or bloom, something far more radical, “It wasn’t until I had maximized my vision and the flood was undeterred that I changed my perspective. I found the sink to consume all the power my soul could bear: Connection.”